Founders
Dorin C. Matthews
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer of FPA
Dorin has a Bachelor's in Human Services and a Masters in Social Work from Touro College. She has been an Adoptive foster parent for the past eleven years and has faced many obstacles and challenges, with limited support from foster care agencies. Dorin has worked as a preventive case planner as well as a social work intern in a psychiatric day treatment program for children. She is one of the partners of United Foster Parents Consultants LLC. While working as a foster parent advocate within a foster care agency, she observed that services were not being adequately provided to the foster parents. She decided she wanted to make a change and break that cycle. Dorin has raised and adopted her two nephews. She has also opened her home to other youths in foster care and has participated in helping the families transition back together. The eleven year experience has motivated her to reach out and help other foster parents, by providing support, education and empowerment, to help them get the services for the foster children in their care. Dorin believe's that the key for foster parents, in order to make change, is unity. Speak up and be heard! That is the only way change will happen.
SylviaM. Hooper
Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer of FPA
Ms. Hooper is an adoptive child who went back into the system after her adoptive parents passed away at age 15. She was then placed in kinship foster care, where she did not have a good experience. She has made it her personal mission to advocate for children, individuals and groups who are unable or incapable of doing so.
Ms. Hooper has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Adephi Unversity and is working towards obtaining her Masters in Social Work from Touro College. Sylvia is one of the partners of United Foster Parents Consultants LLC. She has worked for the Administration for Children Services as a Child Protective Specialist for two years. She presently works as a student liaison for a middle school in the Bronx. Ms. Hooper also has knowledge and experience of the foster care system as she worked as an Intake Case Planner within a foster care agency, at which she observed the gaps in the foster care system that are affecting the children in care. She also observed the lack of support and guidance that was provided to both the foster parents and children in foster care. It was from her work experience and lack of support and commitment from her colleagues, that Ms. Hooper decided she wanted to take action and help the families and children of the community make a change.
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer of FPA
Dorin has a Bachelor's in Human Services and a Masters in Social Work from Touro College. She has been an Adoptive foster parent for the past eleven years and has faced many obstacles and challenges, with limited support from foster care agencies. Dorin has worked as a preventive case planner as well as a social work intern in a psychiatric day treatment program for children. She is one of the partners of United Foster Parents Consultants LLC. While working as a foster parent advocate within a foster care agency, she observed that services were not being adequately provided to the foster parents. She decided she wanted to make a change and break that cycle. Dorin has raised and adopted her two nephews. She has also opened her home to other youths in foster care and has participated in helping the families transition back together. The eleven year experience has motivated her to reach out and help other foster parents, by providing support, education and empowerment, to help them get the services for the foster children in their care. Dorin believe's that the key for foster parents, in order to make change, is unity. Speak up and be heard! That is the only way change will happen.
SylviaM. Hooper
Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer of FPA
Ms. Hooper is an adoptive child who went back into the system after her adoptive parents passed away at age 15. She was then placed in kinship foster care, where she did not have a good experience. She has made it her personal mission to advocate for children, individuals and groups who are unable or incapable of doing so.
Ms. Hooper has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Adephi Unversity and is working towards obtaining her Masters in Social Work from Touro College. Sylvia is one of the partners of United Foster Parents Consultants LLC. She has worked for the Administration for Children Services as a Child Protective Specialist for two years. She presently works as a student liaison for a middle school in the Bronx. Ms. Hooper also has knowledge and experience of the foster care system as she worked as an Intake Case Planner within a foster care agency, at which she observed the gaps in the foster care system that are affecting the children in care. She also observed the lack of support and guidance that was provided to both the foster parents and children in foster care. It was from her work experience and lack of support and commitment from her colleagues, that Ms. Hooper decided she wanted to take action and help the families and children of the community make a change.
Copyright © 2010 Foster Parent Advocacy Foundation Inc. All rights reserved.
Board Members
Sylvia Hooper (left) & Dorin Matthews (right)
Dr. Carmen Becker Ph.D. Chair of the Board
Dr. Carmen Becker was born on the lower east side, of a Latino mother and an African-American father. After her mother's death, she was raised by her maternal grandmother and aunts, while her father worked. Due to religious misunderstandings, she and her brother were placed in foster care and were separated. She never lived with her brother again. In her pre-teen years, living from place to place and suffering abuse, she was placed with the Franciscan Nuns who continued to raise her.
She attended school in New York City: PS,111 and Julia Richman high school. She later attended Fordham university and Berne University in New Hampshire. Dr. Becker has three children, of which one is deceased. As a single mother, she knew that education is key, and eventually received her Bachelors at Fordham University, as well as her MSW in Social Work. Dr. Becker received her Doctorate in 2003 from Berne Unversity in New Hampshire.
Dr. Becker served as the chair of the Human Service Department of Touro College for seventeen years. She is now a Consultant of Educational Motivation, where she believes in a holistic approach to education, whether it be for children or adults returning to school. Her motto: "Each potential individual can be awakened with knowledge when educators become and are aware of the whole person before them".
Anthony A. Graham Vice Chair of the Board
Mr. Graham has served as a Business Consultant for eighteen years and specializes in Debt Elimination Counseling. He attended and graduated from St. Johns University, with a Business Management Degree. Mr. Graham works for Administration for Children Services - Division of Community Affairs of the Office of Advocacy. He has been an office manager for several years at ACS and has provided families with resource information. Mr. Graham has been passionate about helping people his whole life. Once a community organizer for reform, he now helping people to organize their communities for the better. Mr. Graham believes that in order to help children in foster care, you must increase their self-sufficiency by providing an education, empowerment and resources to help each child. Mr Graham is here to support the efforts of our members as they work for the health, education, and welfare of youths in foster care.
Ann Dowd
Secretary of the Board
Ms. Dowd was born and raised in Holyoke Massachusetts,was a pre-med graduate of Holy Cross College,and has an MFA in acting from the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University. She is professional actress working in theather, film, and television.She also teaches Chekhov at Tennessee Williams at Cap 21, an acting school at NYU. She lives in New York with her husband and their two children.Ms Dowd appeared on Broadway and received the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising B'way Debut. Ms Dowd has been in numerous amount of different films such as Philadelphia, Marley and Me. She has appearred on several television series such as law and order and the X- files. She has been a foster parent for 4 years now.
Secretary of the Board
Ms. Dowd was born and raised in Holyoke Massachusetts,was a pre-med graduate of Holy Cross College,and has an MFA in acting from the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University. She is professional actress working in theather, film, and television.She also teaches Chekhov at Tennessee Williams at Cap 21, an acting school at NYU. She lives in New York with her husband and their two children.Ms Dowd appeared on Broadway and received the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising B'way Debut. Ms Dowd has been in numerous amount of different films such as Philadelphia, Marley and Me. She has appearred on several television series such as law and order and the X- files. She has been a foster parent for 4 years now.
Phoebe Chen Treasurer of the Board
Ms. Chen was born in Patterson, New Jersey and grew up in the New Jersey suburbs of. She attended New York University – Leonard N. Stern School of Business, where she obtained her Bachelor's degree in Finance and CPA Accounting, with a Minor in East Studies. She is currently an associate at a big 4 accounting firm in the Forensics, Fraud, and Investigations Group. Ms. Chen is planning on sitting for her CPA this year. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Delta Phi, as well as Alpha Kappa Psi. She resides in jersey and works in midtown Manhattan.
